Color and stain removers for



Patented Apr. 17, 1951 COLOR AND STAIN REMOVERS FOR FABRICS Eugene D. Seiter, Jersey City, N. J., Chester M.

Gooding, Staten Island, N. Y., and Elliott Morrill, Oak Park, Ill., assignors to The Best Foods, Inc., New York, N. Y., av corporation of New Jersey No Drawing. Application September 24, 1947,

Serial No. 775,966

1 This invention relates to color removers and more particularly to dry, solid, color and stain removers for fabrics.

An object of this invention is to remove color from dyed fabrics preparatory to redyeing.

1 Another object of this invention is to provide a color and stain remover which is particularly adapted for household use and which may be utilized effectively by the nonprofessional.

While there are numerous dye removers adapted and sold for home use, many of these color removers do not remove color from' all fabrics preparatory to redyeing. For example, some color removers, due to the presence of alkali, attack wool and swell and disintegrate some synthetic cellulose fabrics. Other household color removers do not remove the color from fabrics made of cellulose esters, particularly if the cellulose ester fabric is dyed with a .dark color. These deficiencies of commercial household color removers are particularly disadvantageous When it is required to remove color from a garment composed of two different fabrics such as W001 and rayon.

In accordance with this invention, color and stain removers are provided which are adapted for household use and which effectively remove color from all types of fabrics whether the fabric be composed, for example, of cotton, cellulose esters, wool or rayon. The color of a wool garment having a rayon lining, for example, can be effectively removed by the compositions of this invention from both fabrics simultaneously and without substantial damage to either fabric. Certain stains may likewise be removed by the compositions of this invention.

The compositions of this invention comprise 100 parts of basic zinc sulfoxylate formaldehyde, 200 to 700 parts, and preferably 200 to 400 parts, of succinic acid, and 1 to 20 parts of a solid nitrogenous, organic cationic material, substantive to cellulosic materials, such as cellulose acetate,v

and having a substituent containing at least 12 carbon atoms. The compositions of this invention may be produced by dry mixing the basic zinc sulfoxylate formaldehyde, the succinic acid and the solid, nitrogenous organic cationic material. The compositions are adapted to be readily dispersed in water by a housewife to produce a color and stain removing solution. Until the compositions are dispersed in Water, they are not effective, and to facilitate the relatively quick dispersion of the color removing compositions, they are preferably dr mixed. Since the three gallon pail is a common household article, con- .1 Claim. (01. 252-105) veniently, the amount of composition contained in a household package is su'fiicient to form an effective color removing solution with about two and a half gallons of water, although other concentrations may be used. The composition, after dispersion in the water, is preferably heated to 'a temperature above F, and the fabric is immersed completely in that solution. After the color has been sufficiently removed, the articleis withdrawn from the bath, permitted to drain and thoroughly Washed and rinsed in cold water.

By a cationic material is meant a material which, when dispersed in water, is capable of producing a relatively large organic cation, either by dissociation of the molecule per se or by hydrolysis of the reaction product of the material and the succinic acid. For example, certain solid amine salts on dissolving in water produce these cations, and certain amine bases in water solution sometimes hydrolyze directly or combine with the succinic acid to form an amine salt which in turn produces these cations. Solid organic ammonium salts having at least 16 carbon atoms are particularly satisfactory for use as the cationic material component of the compositions of this-invention. Solid, water soluble cationic aryloxy alkoxy alkylene quaternary ammonium salts hav-. ing at least 16 carbon atoms and in which the alkoxy group has at least two carbon atoms, such as aryloxy alkoxy alkylene ammonium chlorides having at least 16 carbon atoms, for example, para diisobutyl phenoxy thoxy ethyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride, are especially satisfactory for this purpose.

The principal factors involved in determining the relative proportions required to produce a satisfactory dry color remover in accordance with this invention are the quanity of water in which the composition is to be dissolved, the temperature of the water solution during the color removing, the period of time that the dyed fabric is immersed in the solution and the relative fastness of the dye. In the marketing of color removers adapted for household use, the proportions of constituents may be varied to produce a composition which would be satisfactory for the removal of color from .dyed fabrics and Which would be adapted for dispersion in a definite quantity of water at a definite temperature, the dyed fabric being immersed in the solution for a definie period of time. These latter three factors of quantity of water, time and temperature could be fixed for a. particular composition and indicated in the directions accompanying that composition. The compositions of this invention are capable of re-= moving most dyes from fabrics regardless of the' which are only very difiicultlyor not at allstripped by basic zinc sulfoxylate formaldehyde alone. This effect is particularly marked in the. case of dark-dyed acetates.

The use of the cationic material specified, extends this acceleration of stripping; ability and improves the speed and extent of action on the most difiicultly stripped dark-dyed acetates. While the compositions of this invention are. capable of stripping a great many fabrics, there are some fabrics or dyes which cannot be stripped by the compositions of this invention or by any other knownmeans. Included inthis latter. cate-- gory. are fast-dyed cottons and resin-pigment printed textiles.

Examples of solid, nitrogenous organic cationic materials, being substantive to cellulosic' mate.- rials, and having a substituent containing at least 12. carbon atoms are stearyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride, stearyl dibutyl benzyl ammonium chloride, stearyl tris (hydroxy ethyl) a mmonium chloride, diisobutyl cresoxy ethoxy ethyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride, lauryl pyridinium. chloride, salts of lauryl amine, para: diisobutyl phenoxy ethoxy ethyl dimethyl. benzyl ammonium chloride, 1-hydroxyethyl-2-heptadecenyl glyoxali'dinehydrochloride, salts. of amino ethyl stearamide, stearyl amine hydrochloride, salts of para diisobutyl phenoxy ethoxy ethyl dimethyl amine, and salts of diisobutyl cresoxy ethoxy ethyl dimethyl amine.

A more comprehensive understanding of this invention is obtained by reference to the following examples:

Example 1.

A dry household color and stain remover forfabrics was prepared by dry mixing the following in the quantities indicated:

50 grams basic zinc sulfoxylate formaldehyde 100 grams succinic acid 2 grams para diisobutyl phenoxy ethoxyethyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride Y Example 2 A dry household color and dye remover was prepared by dry mixing the following ingredients:

50' grams basic zinc sulfoxylate formaldehyde 200 grams succinic acid 6 grams stearyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride 4 This dry composition may be dispersed in about two and one half gallons of water to form an effective color and stain removing solution.

Example 3 A dry household color and stain removing composition was prepared by dry mixing the following:

50 grams basic zinc sulfoxylate formaldehyde 150. gramssuccinicacid 4' grams lauryl pyridinium chloride.

This composition. was adapted for dispersion in about two and one half gallons of water to produce an effective color and stain removing solution.

Example 4 A dry household color and stain remover for fabricswas preparedby dry mixing the following:

50 grams basic zinc sulfoxylate formaldehyde 125 grams succinic acid 5 grams 1-hydroxyethyl-2-heptadecenyl glyoxalidine hydrochloride This composition was adapted for dispersion, in about two and one half gallons. of. water..

The terms and expressions. which we have. em.- ployed. are. used as terms of descriptionand not of limitation, and we have nointention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding. any equivalents of the features, described or p:ortions. thereof, but recognize that various modifications arepossible within the scope of the invention claimed.

What is claimed is:

A solid dry color and stain remover for fabricsconsisting essentially of parts. by weight of: basic. zinc sulfoxylate formaldehyde, 200 to 400. partsby weight of succinic acid, and 1 to 20 parts; by weight of para diisobutyl phenoxy ethoxy ethyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride.

EUGENE D. SEITER. CHESTER M. GOODING. ELLIOTT MORRILL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in thefile of this patent? UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Date. 

